The generators convert the winds of 5 mph or greater into light, which glows through the tubes.

Marold first started his project in 2000 when he was living on a farm north of Reykjavik. With plentiful wind and lots of long dark nights, Marold came up with an idea to be able to watch the wind. Rigging up some crude wind turbines from refrigerator fan blades and dynamo generators for bicycles, he began placing these units out in the landscape to capture the wind. Over time, his mini wind turbine design evolved to using translucent polycarbonate tubes, LED lights and appropriately sized anemometer cups and generators.

The Windmill Project has been installed in Iceland, Burlington, Vermont and Vail, Colorado since then and Marold has used anywhere from 500 to 3000 generators. Marold works with members of the community to decide on a location and volunteers help him install the 8 foot tall generators. Starting at winds of 5 mph, the generators will convert the wind into light, which glows through the tube and casts light down onto the ground. The strength of the wind determines how brightly the light glows. As the wind moves across the landscape it blows across the turbines and lights them up creating a visual representation of where the wind is. Subtle during the daylight, the project comes alive at night and dramatically showcases the wind as a living body of light.